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Virtual Open House....A Real Estate Win-Win for Everyone including clients....:) Updated 4/6/08

Ahh, what is on everyones mind....the client. Guard them, protect them, treat them right so they will eventually either buy or sell a home with you. Isn't that what Real Estate is all about? We help people get into or out of a home, and get paid for knowing the in's and out's of the Profession. So if this is the case why would you want to tell your clients about my Virtual Open House?

Marketing for Open House

Misty Lackie CEO Go Smart Solutions came up with a great idea of a Virtual Open House in a recent Marketing Contest on Active Rain. I wrote this Post Want a Great Marketing Idea......I got mine by Judging an Active Rain Contest .

Well, I just wanted to tell everyone that Jason Sardi- Mortgage Broker with First Choice Equity Group, Inc. of Allentown Pennsylvania made a comment on that Post about wanting ideas for Lenders too.

Ask and you shall receive.....the Virtual Open House Idea was modified to include a chat and call box for both a Lender and Realtor.

Earlier this week we had already done some online advertising, and sent out Post Cards to Prospective Buyers....

Now the last thing to do , but certainly not least, was to make fliers and distribute them to other Agents. The fliers have updated information for the Lender that agreed to be a part of this Project. Ricardo Bueno ~ Mortgage Broker with World Wide Credit Corp graciously agreed to volunteer his time to answer any Mortgage Questions. Having a Lender available increases the benefit of this online Open House Experience.

Virtual Open House Announcement

Someone had suggested that we have a sign in, a way to capture peoples information, and offer a prize for people that sign-in. But that idea just didn't sit well with me, it's not the way I run my business.......I want people to feel comfortable, and to be totally Anonoymous if they want. " We will not solicit your client, no sign in information is required that captures their information. Our Goal is to sell a Home, not take your client " :)

Please join us on Saturday and see how this new way of Marketing can be a win-win for everyone :)

So what do you think, if you were a buyer would you feel comfortable?

and if you are an Agent will you feel comfortable ?

***UPDATE 4/6/08 Virtual Open House.....It's Over and I would say a rousing Success :) See how it all came out :)

*** Home is in Serrano Del Vista, Banning, CA

By: Kathy McGraw - CELLing Realty

DISCLAIMER: Neither myself nor CELLing Realty are responsible for the accuracy or content from anyone other than myself.The opinions expressed in my Blog by The Activerain Network and it's members and anyone providing comments are theirs alone, and do not reflect the opinions of Kathy McGraw and/or CELLing Realty.

Posted by Kathy McGraw, Riverside County CA Real Estate on 04/04/2008 02:17 AM

Comments (27)

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27 Comments on Virtual Open House....A Real Estate Win-Win for Everyone including clients....:) Updated 4/6/08

APR

2008

Good Morning Kathy - I think I'm still liking this platform a lot! Fuzzy slippers here I come!

Kathy, I'd be interested to see if this idea works out. Regular virtual tours can garner a ton of viewings but seldom ever a response from the persons who view them. Your idea will be much more interactive.

What a nice idea! Why though, would you only advertise the online open house for two hours? Wouldn't it be accessable 24/7 since it is online?

Kathy, I'm all for thinking outside the box, so go for it. What are you making in the way of snacks to lure us in?

Kathy,

I'm using photobucket with virtual tours as an experiment and it did get me a call this week so we shall see. Good idea.

What an interesting idea and I can't wait to see how it goes. Is there special software that you are using for this?

Snacks, there will be snacks?

Seriously, I'll be keeping tabs on this...

Kathy,

Thanks for the update and I will try to be there-a good idea can grow its own legs!

Steve

Linda- Oh yes, fuzzy slipper time.....:) Yesterday it was raining here, while I was making the fliers, and you know that just re-enforced how this can be so good for all REALTORS (R), and their clients. Please stop by......hey you can come to an open house in California, how cool is that, and save all that gas money :)

Jim-I'm curious too......and even if no one but me and my best Real Estate Buddies come.....Google will be there :) And that is a win long after the event :) The page that stays up still gives the client info. We just virtually shut and lock the door :)

Evelyn-That's a great question......Misty's company has the ability to do many things, all except get an Agent (me) and a Lender (Ricardo) to be available 24/7 on a live chat and call me now button LOL :) Seriously that is the only reason......the Virtaul Open House makes sure we are available for those 2 hours to answer questions......just like a Physical Open House :) Great question though shows you're thinking......I like that.

Missy- Oh no....we're coming to your Football Game for the snacks :)

Neal- We just keep trying different things and see if they work. I know I will do this one again without a doubt, depending on the cost to set it up. For me I see the benefit, and as I told Linda I would rather sit in my own home, with my fuzzy slippers and have no one come, then to get dressed, haul out signs, buy snacks, and prepare the house......and no one come !!!!!!! I love new ideas :)

Todd-I asked a similar question, and here is the response I got:

The creation of this virtual open was much of a manual creation process but if you have good results from it we plan on developing a system that will allow you and other Agents to create these on your own. This trial and the success of it will determine how we move forward with the self serve virtual creation system. Our team is all about developing self-serve web-based systems that allow our customers to create their own online media and marketing. It allows us to offer our products for very little money because there is very little cost on employee overhead. Plus our customers love the control they have on creating their own material. I am excited to see how this works for you and if it is a success we plan on moving forward with a self serve web interface that will make it really easy for you to create these.

Yes, you can add properties (online flyers) through the account we setup for you. ClassifiedFlyerAds.comallows you to create full color online property flyers and have them automatically syndicated to over 25 top real estate directories and search engines such as Google. Each flyer also comes with a free virtual tour, widgets, click-to-call and a bunch of other tools that can be seen from http://www.classifiedflyerads.com/realestate-features.php

Jason- I am still laughing....I hope you have your ticket to the Missy Caulk Team Football Game.....that's where the snacks are....:) Seriously, thanks for the inspiration, and let me know your feedback......you can put it on the chat for lender or agent.

Steve- At least you didn't ask to be fed......:)

Kathy, I think it sounds like a wonderful idea, I wish I were going to be home, I would log on to watch. Please let us know how it goes--and yes, I like the idea that they don't have to sign in or register either, they may feel that they'll end up on some mailing list that way.

Interesting idea. Let us know how this goes!

Kathy,

That is awesome, I have it bookmarked and will try to check it out tomorrow. Of course, I assume that since it is in the virtual realm, I can still tour the house even if I run out of time. Gotta love the convenience of being online.

Good luck! I tried something exactly like this last year and it was a complete disaster!

I'm curious to see how yours turns out. We had over 50 people attend!

1) It ended up freezing up the system - too many people.

2) 100% of those 50 people were other real estate agents around the country who were 'curious' and who wanted to possibly buy the 'product' (which was NOT a product, only an experiment ... at the time). Most wanted to talk about the 'product'.

3) The agent wasn't particularly comfortable in front of the camera, especially once he realized how many people were there. And again, all they wanted to talk about was 'the real estate market, horror stories, and the viability of the 'product' which wasn't really a product! It was frustrating, to say the least.

I was mostly interested in BUYERS. If BUYERS came, to me it would be worth doing this. But just as many buyers came to this "open house" that come to real open houses... NONE! That is what I was curious to see - would buyers embrace the idea? It was advertised on two separate occasion with a fairly large ad in the local newspaper. It was advertised for two weeks on the agent's home page - one of the top ranked real estate websites in the state. We got a fair amount of national publicity for it, as it was the first of it's kind that we were aware of.

Complete disaster. Not sure I would try it again, but very curious how it goes with you! Good luck!

The problem is getting buyers to go to the site. I think they'd rather surf at their leisure when THEY feel like it, view the info, look at photos, videos, etc. , vs. logging in at a specific time - and the only additional advantage is they can talk to a house salesman - which is usually the last thing people want honestly.....

I am going to attend, if for no other reason to get the snacks! Oh! Another benefit: I'll be traveling 2100 virtual miles! Bet my accountant will flip out when he sees that in my mileage log for 2008 income tax deductions? :)

What are Mello Roos?????

Jackie&Jerry- Mello Roos is a California Special Tax that if approved helps finance certain things like a freeway underpass, other infrastructure, schools, city services, etc. I don't know if other States have anything like this....but here the Mello Roos Tax is paid with your property tax, and by law we have to disclose if a subdivision, or house is in a Mello Roos tax district.

Hope this explained it......in my town Mello Roos paid for a lot of improvements, and the Freeway Underpass.......the house that will be hosting the Virtual Open is not in a Mello Roos....and that can save the person a lot of money :)

APR

2008

It sounds like a great idea. I am looking forward to a follow up post from you.

Hi Kathy, I'm in between inspections right now. I'm not sure how much energy I'll have after I'm done for the day, but if I'll see if I can stop by your virtual open house. Sounds like a great idea.

I really like this! I wouldn't worry much about someone snagging my client. Sometimes, we actually tell them to go visit a house that we know is going to be open (and sometimes call the agent ahead of time to say that we're sending someone over. Whenever people visit my open houses, I always ask if they are working with an agent, or just tell them to contact their agent, etc... I like the incentive you offer for the agents, too!

Gita- well, as I write this we are now done....it has been a very long day, and I'm going to write a Follow-up probably in the morning :)

Joseph- Work first, but thanks for the support :)

Mara- Good to hear....I like learning what others do. And as this is over now (and you came) I have to say it was pretty good.....will write about it in the morning....now I'm watching Harry Potter and relaxing :)

APR

2008

Fred- I read your comment a few times.....and our Open House was somewhat different than yours.....and no the server couldn't crash......Misty stated she wished you had gone to her Blog and posted before we did this.....but me, I'm glad you didn't :) Sometimes I think that timing and location are the important things. Where would we be today if the Wright Brothers had given up :)

Jim- I love it.......your comment was one of the best I've read :) Let me know what your accountant says :)

APR

2008

This sounds like an interesting way to market. The world isalways changing.

Carol- Marketing is something I really enjoy.....every house is different, as is every piece of land, so to effectively Market them takes creativity......and that is what this was. Here is the link to how this all turned out Virtual Open House.....It's Over and I would say a rousing Success :). Thanks for stopping by to look, as it is indeed a new idea, in a changing world.

APR

2008

Hi Kathy, I read your Success Story first and then came back here. Wow, this was a wonderful result. I am still perplexed by the reactions from some of the agents you ran into. I hope they read your blog post about the results...

APR

2008

Lola- Ahhh so you got the desert before the meal :) You state you are perplexed by the reactions of some of the agents I met that day....think of it like this: I am in an area that was pretty closed for years and years.....then Development came, new people moved in, and well now the area isn't physically closed, but for many it is still a mental thing. This is a generalization of course......what I see a real lack of is the acceptance of technology as a Tool.....it is pretty much just used for email and the MLS. I think that's one of the reasons I ike AR so much..it is a place to learn and share the newest ideas and tools while interacting with some of the brightest people across the US and Canada (and a few other countries).

MAY

Hi Kathy,

We have a web site that we're launching in Omaha, NE called 4114OpenHouses.com. We wanted to go with that "Virtual Open House" idea and found it helpful to change "Schedule a Showing" to "Schedule a Private Showing".

In Omaha they just implementing a new IDX feed that includes open house schedules. That way, all the brokers will be able to show ALL open houses that are entered through their MLS system in Paragon. It's been out there for a couple months but nobody is using it yet but us, leaving us with 17 open houses.

As the Webmaster, and NOT an agent, I was surprised to see my partner, an Agent, drop what he was doing whenever somebody that was pre-qualified on the phone asked to see one of his listings. We have to educate the consumers that if the house is empty they have a good chance of seeing it that same day! "A Private Showing"

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